Return to Mystic Falls
by KnightPrincess772
Summary: When Damon and Elizabeth return to Mystic Falls the once quiet, small town gets shaken up. T for language.
1. Return

Fog washes over the forest floor, covering the soil, making fallen trees nearly invisible. Light breathing can be heard from a few feet ahead, a girl frightened by the rapid change in weather. Tonight was predicted to be clear. A light breeze winds its way through the forest, carrying the girls sent towards her predators awaiting nostrils. She's completely oblivious to what is about to happen. I almost feel sorry for her, but then again it's her own fault she's ignorant and decided to wander off alone. She deserves this.

Suddenly the dark haired man who was standing by my side is looking at me from across the way; one of us behind the girl, the other in front. Even if she did try to run away, she wouldn't make it very far.

"Jeremy," the girl calls out, "this isn't funny."

I can see his smirk, that cocky attitude he gets right before a kill taking over. It's something I've always loved about him. Just as I go to return the grin, Damon Salvatore has sprung at the girl, knocking her to her feet; teeth plunged deep into her throat. I wait, listening for the slightest noise. If we get caught a hunt will go up in Mystic Falls and the news crews will quickly descend…that's not that plan; at least for now.

"Damon," I hiss, hearing two of the far off voices growing closer, leaves and various other things that cover the ground crunching under shoes. "Damon, we have to go."

He snarls before the two of us take off into the trees. The people will blame it on another animal attack and warn kids to be careful and avoid going into the woods if they can. No one will ever suspect that a vampire had moved back into Mystic Falls, at least not anyone that can't be taken care of.

"Who was out there?" Damon questions as we head towards the Salvatore manor on the outskirts of town.

I shrug, "They weren't voices that I directly knew but someone was coming. I wouldn't have stopped you if there wasn't danger."

The dark haired vampire nods. He knows me well. Feeding is the most important part of our lives right now. He needs to be strong…we both do. His brother will try and drive us out of town we need to be as alert and ready for the fight that will ensue if we plan on staying.

"Your brother is home," I announce as Damon and I move to stand on Stefan's balcony.

The younger Salvatore meets his brother's gaze, a look of sheer hatred is shared between the two, "Damon…Elizabeth."

Damon smiles, "Hello brother."

The crow that Damon has taken under his control for dramatic effect squawks from Stefan's desk before being sent away. It really serves no purpose until we need it to scare people so that they will come running right into our trap.

"Crows a bit much, don't you think?" Stefan starts, breaking the stiff silence that was beginning to creep across the room.

"Wait till you see what he can do with the fog," I answer back with a sneer.

I've not liked Stefan since the day him and Damon turned. He whines and insists that he get his way. I believe they call it younger sibling disorder or something but all I know is that it's utterly annoying and it's caused both brothers serious pain. I won't let that happen anymore. Stefan will learn his place…will pay for the pain inflicted on Damon. I no longer have pity for the brown haired child. He should've died a long time ago.

"When did you get here?" Stefan questions.

"Well, we couldn't miss your first day of school," Damon scoffs, moving around his brothers room, picking up odds and ends off the desk and bookshelf. "Your hair is different…I like it."

Stefan does not look impressed, "It's been fifteen years Damon, even longer for you Elizabeth."

Damon, always one to make light a situation laughs, "Thank God, I couldn't take another day of the nineties."

"That horrible grunge look did not suit me," I add on, leaning up against one of the many dark bookshelves that line the walls of Stefan's room.

"Or you brother," Damon injects. "Remember Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads."

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed my little brother. Elizabeth and I just happened to be going the same way…for the five years," Damon answers with a laugh.

"Damon thought it would be good to check in on you," I add on. I'm just along for the ride. I tried to convince Damon that coming back to Mystic Falls wasn't a good idea. I hate small towns; they're full of boring streets and boring people.

"You both hate small towns, it's boring, nothing for you to do," Stefan insists as if his words are magically going to make us come to our senses and walk right back out the door. He's always been a little dense.

"I've managed to keep myself busy," Damon answers, winking at me.

"You know you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you," Stefan continues as if this is really going to affect us.

Damon grimaces, pretending to be really worried about what his brother has just said, "That could be a problem."

I saunter over to the younger Salvatore brother, a smirk set on my cherry red lips. My finger trails its way from Stefan's ear to his chin a few times, eventually landing right in the middle of his chest, "For you."

With that I walk to stand near Damon the two of us laughing quietly between ourselves.

"Why are you here now, both of you?"

"I could ask you the same question, however, I'm fairly certain your answer could be summed up all into one little word," Damon says walking towards his brother and then looping back towards me.

"Elena," I let slip out with an evil grin.

Stefan's face contorts into a look of horror as the girl's name falls from my lips. If we know she's here it only means bad things, at least in Stefan's eyes. He's obviously already formed some kind of bond with the human. Bad idea Stefan.

"She took my breath away, Elena, she's a dead ringer for Katherine…even had Elizabeth fooled for a bit." Damon smirks.

"Is it working Stefan?" I question, seeing that our words are starting to affect him.

"Being around her, being in her world, does it make you feel alive?" Damon eggs on as the veins under Stefan's eyes begin to bubble.

"She's not Katherine!" the younger Salvatore explodes.

"Well, let's hope not…we all know how that ends," Damon replies, maintaining his composure.

"You ended up falling for her equally sadistic little sister and we hate each other," Stefan answers bluntly.

Damon is in the mood for a fight tonight. He's not just here to stand around and have idle chit-chat, if he wanted that we would've joined everyone at the party. Stefan seems to want to keep things under control. This is not going to end well for him.

"Tell me something," Damon begins trying to rile his brother up, "when's the last time you've has something stronger than a squirrel?"

Stefan scoffs, "I know what you're doing Damon, it's not going to work."

"Yeah, you started it," Damon sneers. He doesn't like it when people bring me into the conversation in any way but positively. "Come on, don't you crave something stronger, let's do it, all together, I saw a couple girls out there."

"Let's just cut to the case Damon," I interject getting bored with the jabs going back and forth.

"Let's just go for Elena," Damon says, finally getting the reaction out of Stefan that he wants.

Stefan can no longer control himself; the veins appear his eyes darkening. His hands collide with Damon's shoulders, pushing the dark haired vampire backwards into the wall, "Stop it!"

I hiss ready to attack Stefan if he goes much farther. I don't take kindly to people who try and harm those that I'm with. Damon has been with me from the beginning, I'd lay my life down in order to save him.

Damon steadies himself, ready for Stefan's reaction to what he is about to say, "Don't you wonder what her blood tastes like? I do!"

"I said stop!" Stefan yells, lunging at his brother.

The two bodies crash through the window, falling towards the ground below. From the window I watch as they twist and turn, Damon leaving his brothers grip only seconds before the impact with the ground. Stefan who is much weaker hits the glass covered concrete. He grunts, pushing himself up off the ground, turning around to face Damon slowly. Stefan is clearly weak. Animal blood is hardly anything to survive off of. I'm actually surprised Damon's brother is still alive.

"I'm impressed," Damon says, leaning up against the small brick wall that lines the driveway. "I give it a six; missed on style but I was presently surprised, very good with the whole face _raw raw_ thing." Damon impersonates his brother, making growling noises his hands raise, face contorted. "It was good."

I laugh. The oldest Salvatore never ceases to amaze me. He's so much more than this angry, dark, brooding creature. He's got a sense of humor and the sharpest mind I've ever encountered. He's the only person I'd actually ever been able to connect with on a higher level than just for food or convenience.

"Yeah, it's all fun and games Damon, huh?" Stefan begins. He always has been the more serious brother. "Wherever you go people die. Tragedy follows your little girlfriend around. You two are bad omens."

Damon looks confused like he doesn't understand why Stefan thinks this is a bad thing, "That's a given."

"Not here, I won't allow it."

"I'll take that as an invitation," Damon replies, that shit eating smirk creeping over his full lips.

"Damon please," Stefan begs, taking the groveling road, "after all these years can't we just give it a rest. Can't you and Elizabeth go someplace else?"

Damon sighs clearly frustrated that his brother isn't getting it, "I promised you an eternity of misery so I'm just keeping my word. As for Elizabeth, well, you and I both know no one can control her."

I wink down at the dark haired vampire who is beaming up at me.

"Just stay away from Elena," Stefan says as if that's really going to work.

Bored with watching from above I launch myself out of the upstairs window, landing gracefully on the driveway before walking over to Damon. He wraps and arm around my shoulders, laying a kiss on my temple.

"Where's your ring?" Damon questions Stefan, giving him a perplexed look.

Stefan looks in horror at his finger, feeling around in his pockets with the other hand. Without the ring Stefan can't survive, he can't protect Elena.

"The sun's coming up in a few hours and then you know '_poof' _ashes to ashes," I antagonize with a small smirk, twisting my ring around my finger.

Damon laughs, "Relax, its right here." He holds out his open palm, the blue and silver heirloom sitting in the middle.

Stefan looks confused and cautiously reaches forward to take the ring, quickly sliding it back on his finger his almond colored eyes fixed on me. He knows more than I thought he would.

"She comes in quite handy," Damon says before his eyes turn a piercing blue, veins drawn to the surface as his turns from man to vampire. His hand wraps itself around Stefan's neck, lifting him from the ground and propelling him back towards the garage door.

Stefan falls to the ground, making no move to stand and fight. He knows he's lost this one. For now he is just going to have to deal with us occupying Mystic Falls alongside him.

"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me. You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again." Damon says calmly. He's always been very good at controlling his emotions.

From inside the house come noises of someone walking around, a light on the side flipping on. The commotion from outside could be heard inside and probably disturbed the other occupant in the house. "I think we woke Zach up."

"Sorry Zach," Damon says as we head into the house, leaving Stefan to lie there and think about what has just happened.

"You should've just left him without the ring," I say as Damon pours us both a scotch.

"I want to keep him alive for a while. I can't really torture him if he's dead now can I?"

I let out a groan. Stefan as a person has always bothered me. He's stuffy and uptight he ruined everything for us. I'm sure if it was up to him our kind wouldn't exist. He's better off dead.

"Come on, let's get out of here, I don't want to be inside when Stefan decided to come inside," I answer.

Damon obliges, offering me his hand. As we exit the house his eyes flick towards the garage where he knows Stefan's car is parked. I shake my head. It would actually take us longer in the car. With that we head towards the local coffee shop.

As we find a seat a black girl gets up leaving a blonde to sit all by herself. She looks defeated, staring sadly into her coffee cup. She's a perfect target. When she looks up Damon smiles kindly at her nodding at the girl to join us; he receives a large smile back. Mystic Falls might not actually be that bad of a town.

I


	2. The Night of the Comet

The hunger is ever present. It doesn't even come down to me staying stronger than Stefan cause everybody whose anybody knows there's no way he can gain all of his strength back by just living off animals. I feed cause the back of my throat burns anytime I'm around anyone besides Elizabeth and Stefan, I feed because it gives me something to do. Despite what I've told my brother Mystic Falls is still as boring today as it was when I decided to leave.

Elizabeth trails behind me as we sneak up on a group of campers waiting to see the comet that is supposed to pass over this sleepy little town tonight and tomorrow. It's the most exciting thing that's happened in years. Unfortunately for this couple they've decided to set up their tent in my hunting ground.

As the man exits the tent I'm on him, leaving little time for him to put up a fight or let out any noise that would alert his wife still inside. Climbing back up the tree I have my fill, leaving him there to let what little blood he has left drip on the tent, drawing the woman out.

"I told you it was going to rain," she calls out, holding the flashlight forward. After a few seconds as the dripping continues yet she is not getting wet the beam of light turns up towards the trees. Upon seeing her dead husband she lets out a scream and takes off towards the car.

Elizabeth smiles slyly before grabbing the car keys and racing towards the trees near the forest edge, placing herself on a branch right above the car. The women frantically pulls at the locked door handle as if it's magically going to open just because she's in danger. Humans can be so stupid at times. Bored with the wait, Elizabeth hits the lock button, causing the car's horn to sound. The prey freezes in fear just seconds before the beautiful creature that is my Elizabeth pounces, draining the unfortunate women or her blood.

"Let's go home," the chestnut haired vampire says lazily, wiping blood from the corners of her mouth. She has this ability to see like she's bored all the time even when the most exciting of things is going on. It's fascinating and annoying all at the same time.

My fingers lace around Elizabeth's as we begin the walk up the road towards the manor. Hopefully Stefan will be asleep. I don't really feel like dealing with him and all his nosy little questions. Zach will be bad enough.

Thankfully both Stefan and Zach are asleep, leaving the house quiet for Elizabeth and me. As she rests on the couch I pour us drinks. For some reason alcohol right after a feed tastes the best. Something with the coppery taste mixed with the burn…it just does something for me. Handing Elizabeth her drink I sit down next to her. She's wearing that bored look she always does, the glass touching her cherry red lips.

"Damon, how long are we going to be here? We could feed virtually anywhere and you chose Mystic Falls. Why? And I want the real answer this time," she says, setting the little crystal glass on the carpet.

"I promised my brother an eternity of misery and pain. He hurt me. He deserves to hurt. I'm not about to just let him walk into the sunset with this Elena chick. Plus, I want to know why she looks like Katherine. I'm sure you know but I can't get lucky enough for you to indulge me," I answer back.

The thing with Elizabeth is you can never be too mean. She stopped being affected by snarky or rude words a very long time ago. If there was one she'd probably be the queen of all things evil with her sister just a step below. Elizabeth ruined Stefan and my life. If I wasn't so smitten with her I would've killed her a long time ago.

"Nope, you can't get that lucky because even I don't know why Elena looks like my sister. Damon, are you ever going to get over what I did to you? I didn't mean it," Elizabeth answers with puppy dog eyes, her long dark eyelashes fluttery ever so slightly.

"If I didn't love you so much I would've killed you," I answer.

She nods, "Just keep letting Stefan think it was Katherine. It makes everything easier. Besides I didn't ruin his life, it was just yours. You used to be so weak Damon. You've grown so much."

Spitting a piece of ice back into my glass I get up. "Are we ever going to be those kids who were so in love they couldn't stand it? Can we ever get back there?"

Elizabeth sighs, getting up and putting her head on my shoulder, arm around my waist, "I've been waiting a long time Damon…you keep fighting it."

With a swish of hair Katherine's sister leaves the room, her footsteps echoing through the house. Why does she have to always be right? From day one I've been trying to push the feelings I used to have for her away. In my mind I tried to erase the happy time and only remember the pain Elizabeth caused. The problem I keep running into is that the good outweighs the bad. The beautiful girl has always had my heart. I don't know why I can't just let things go back to how they were.

_She'll hurt you again. _The little voice inside snarls. _She doesn't care about you Damon. _

I push these thoughts from my head before hurrying after Elizabeth. I catch her on the top of the stairs. I grab her by the shoulder, spinning her around. My lips find hers, lying gently kisses on them over and over.

"Everything is going back to how it was. I'm done fighting."

Elizabeth smiles before leading me to the bedroom.

Later in the day a female voice drifts up the stairs, "Stefan? Stefan?"

I don't even know what time it is but the sun is peaking through the partially open curtains and anyone looking for Stefan would probably be in school with him which means it's probably midafternoon. Groaning, I roll over expecting Elizabeth to still be in bed with me. She isn't. I guess she got bored of lying around. Getting up I pull on a black shirt and jeans before heading down the stairs.

Deciding it would be fun to mess with the human that decided to come barging into my house without knocking I conjure up the crow, willing it to come soaring past the girl who then turns around, face to face with me. She looks shocked and a bit frightened. I'm assuming she was expecting Stefan. Oh well, I'll have to do for now.

"I…I'm sorry for barging in. The door was…" the girl turns around to look at the now shut front door, "open."

"You must be Elena. I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

"He didn't tell me he has a brother," Elena answers back trying to mask her confusion.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come," I say, leading her into the sitting room. "I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."

The dark haired girl stares in awe at the room set out before her, "Wow. This is your living room?"

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's auction," Elizabeth says coming out of the kitchen with a drink in hand.

I smile at her, "It's a little kitschy for my taste. That's Elizabeth by the way.

Elena just nods, her eyes still eating up every detail of the living area.

"I see why my brother's so smitten," I begin a plan forming in my head.

The girl tears her gaze from the room, fixing it on me. She wears a look of confusion.

"It's about time," I continue on. "For a while there I thought he'd never get over the last one…nearly destroyed him."

"The last one?"

"Yeah, Katherine, his girlfriend," I answer eating up the hurt look that plays over Elena's face. Of course Stefan would have left out the ex. There would've been too many questions that he just doesn't have the answers too. It's easier to just "forget" to talk about it. "Oh, you two haven't has the awkward ex's talk yet."

"Nope," Elena answers shaking her head.

"Oops," I frown as if I'm really sorry that I brought it up, "well, I'm sure it'll come up now."

"Or maybe he didn't want her to tell her cause he didn't want her to think he was on the rebound," Elizabeth adds on, setting her glass down on the table set behind one of the red couches in the room.

Poor Elena looks crestfallen, all her thoughts about Stefan being torn apart. It's a little pathetic really.

"We all know how those relationships end," Elizabeth says, twirling a piece of her hair around her finger, a habit both the Pierce sisters have.

Elena turns towards her, "You say it like every relationship is doomed to end."

"She's a fatalist," I explain as my brother comes up behind us. "Hello Stefan."

The girl turns quickly around obviously not having heard Stefan come in.

"Elena," Stefan says, his eyes set on Elizabeth and me, "I didn't know you were coming over."

"I know, I should've called," Elena stutters. This has to be awkward for her.

"Oh don't be silly, you're welcome anytime, isn't she Stefan," I answer knowing this will make his blood boil. "You know I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies but, I have to warn you…he wasn't always such a looker."

Elena smiles at me, probably happy for some break in the death glares and the awkwardness that was building up between Stefan and me. If my brother hasn't screwed things up with this girl already he definitely just did.

"Thank you for stopping by Elena, it was nice to see you," Stefan says through gritted teeth.

Elena looks confused and very hurt. I'm assuming this is not how she'd meant this visit to go at all. "Yeah I should probably go." She turns towards Elizabeth and me. "It was nice to meet you both."

"Great meeting you too Elena," I reply with a smile, gently lifting her hand to my lips and kissing it. I want this girl to know that at least one Salvatore brother has manners. I'd hate to tarnish the family name.

"Hopefully next time Stefan will be in a more hospitable mood," Elizabeth says, glancing up at my brother who is still standing as still as a statue, eyes boring into my skull.

Elena goes to leave, stopping in front of Stefan who is blocking her path to the door. In one last attempt to turn this visit around she tries to make eye contact.

"Stefan, Stefan," she says her tone firm but still gentle.

My brother steps to the side allowing her to walk past and out the front door. He's definitely got no chance with her now. I don't understand how he's managed to lose his touch with the ladies. I guess age does that too you. Then again I still seem to have no problem. Maybe it's a Stefan thing.

"Great gal," I say with a whistle which seems to pull Stefan from his trance.

"She's got spunk," Elizabeth says with a smile. "You on the other hand look pooped."

"Did you over exert yourself today?" I question as Stefan moves into the parlor. "Let me guess, hospital."

"Someone had to clean up your mess."

"Were you successful? Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember, if you don't feed properly none of those little tricks will work right."

"How long was Elena here for?"

"Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past?" Elizabeth questions, circling around Stefan like a predator would its' prey.

"Isn't that why you play your little game, "I'm a high school human"?" I ask, enjoying the frustration that appears on Stefan's face. He hates not getting his questions answered.

"I'm not playing any game," my brother answers, trying to maintain his composure.

"Of course you are."

"We all know the closest you get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it," Elizabeth says, laying her teeth on Stefan's jugular, causing him to swallow hard. He wouldn't put it past Elizabeth to rip his throat open. She's into stuff like that.

"What kind of game are you and Damon playing Elizabeth," Stefan says, his eyes pleading with her as if that's actually going to work.

"Fool," Elizabeth says, pushing Stefan away from her. "You really think your weak manipulation tricks will work on me. You're so stupid Stefan. You always have been and you always will be. Don't ever think you can outwit Damon or me. You're weak Stefan, no better than those humans you love so much."

I chuckle as Stefan looks over at me, "What kind of game are you playing Damon?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," I answer before wrapping my arm around Elizabeth's waist and heading for the front door. "If you'll excuse us, Elizabeth and I have a comet to watch and terror to spread."

Together Elizabeth and I head down Main Street, accepting fliers from those walking around, occasionally stopping to just take in everything that is going. The last time we watched the comet together things in Mystic Falls were very different. It's a lot calmer around here now.

"That blonde chick from the other night is looking at us," Elizabeth whispers to me in between sips of a soda she'd bought at a stand just a few minutes ago.

"I have a feeling she's going to be very persistent," I sigh, regretting picking her up. I like when I get to participate in the chase, not when they just come willingly. In truth it's a little boring.

"I guess I'm going to have to find someone," the female vampire answers back. "Maybe I'll go for Elena's brother, Jeremy, I think his name is."

"Mhm," I muse before taking her by the elbow and disappearing into the crowd. I don't want to start messing with Blondie just yet. Right now Elizabeth is my main priority.

Elizabeth finds a nice secluded bench with a good view of the sky. We sit together and watch the comet, reminiscing about the old Mystic Falls and all of the childish fun we used to have. The brunette has always been young at heart. Sure she's sadistic and moody at times but she's got a soft side. I enjoy that.

"Do you want to go get a beer?" I ask after about an hour of watching the sky.

Elizabeth nods, taking hold of my hand as we head towards the bar just across the street. I have to admit it is a lot easier to get around this town now; everything's so much closer together than it used to be.

The bar is smoky, full of a lot of middle aged people who seem unhappy with their lives. This town can do that to you. Ignoring all of them Elizabeth and I take a seat, ordering beers. We drink while we watch the football game playing on TV.

"I know you," a girl says from the end of the bar.

Turning towards the voice I grimace. It's the girl from the other night. I should've just killed her when I had the chance. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"Um, I don't know how but, your face …" the girl looks confused, "excuse me…sorry." She quickly walks past us into the bathroom.

"Do you mind if I take care of that?" I ask Elizabeth who seems to be rather absorbed by the game playing out in front of her eyes. She always liked football.

"Hmm, oh yeah, go ahead. I'll be here."

With that I get up and go into the bathroom. The girl is standing by the mirror, fixing her hair. As she looks up I attack. She struggles a little but eventually calms down enough for me to take her out of the back door. Guiding the girl through the streets I whisper nothingness in her ear just to keep her quiet, I really don't want a scene right now.

Bringing the girl, whose name I found out is Vicki, onto the roof of a nearby building I bring her dangerously close to the edge, holding her only by her elbow. She cries, begging me to let her go. I just don't see the fun in that. Below on the streets I can hear people beginning to ask where Vicki had gone and who she had last been seen with. It's only a matter of time before Stefan shows up to save the day.

"Shh, I've got you. I'm not gonna drop you," I whisper to the sobbing girl as Stefan appears on the roof. "Not bad, have you been eating squirrels?"

"Let her go," Stefan demands.

"Really," I shrug moving the girl closer to the edge, "okay."

"No!" Vicki begs, fear flashing in her eyes.

Stefan takes a step forward, "No! No!"

Chuckling I toss the girl towards Stefan who catches her in his waiting arms, "Relax. I don't need her to be dead but, you might." I move closer to the girl, crouching down so I can be on her level. "What attacked you the other night?"

Vicki whimpers, "I don't know, an animal."

Moving a little closer I look her right in the eyes, "Are you sure about that? Think, think about it, think really hard. What attacked you?"

Suddenly Vicki moves back, closer to Stefan's legs, "Vampire."

"Who did this to you?"

"You did!"

"Wrong!"

"Don't," Stefan says firmly.

Standing Vicki up I hold onto her face, forcing her to look right at me. I don't want there to be any possibility of this screwing up. "Stefan Salvatore did this to you."

"Stefan Salvatore did this to me," Vicki repeats back slowly.

"Stefan Salvatore is a vampire, a vicious, murderous monster," I continue on.

"Please Damon," Stefan begins to beg. He's getting desperate. "Please don't do this."

"If you couldn't fix it before I don't know what you're gonna do now," I answers back, ripping open Vicki's stitches causing her to start bleeding all over again before pushing her towards Stefan. He'll feel how it feels to be forced to feed. "Your choice of lifestyle has made you weak. A couple of vampire parlor tricks are nothing compared to the power that you can have; that you need."

Stefan breathes heavily. I can see the wheels in his head turning. He is contemplating feeding. It's come down to his survival and him being able to stay with Elena. I have a feeling he's not willing to give her up just yet.

"But you can change that, with human blood, it give you that," I egg him on.

Stefan tosses Vicki to the ground, letting out a grunt. He's harder to crack than I had thought, "You have two choices; you can feed and make her forget or you can let her run screaming vampire through the town square."

"That's what this is about, you wanna expose me?"

"No, I want you to remember who you are."

"Why?! So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what; let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them lock me up and let them drive a stake through my heart because at least I'll be free of you."

In all honesty I'm shocked. I never thought, in all my years of living, that I would hear something like that come out of Stefan's mouth. He's always been so even keeled and willing to avoid conflict. Then again I guess he's kind of backed me into a wall if he dies I can't really keep my promise. I'm not done torturing him just yet. Then again I can't help but laugh at his words. "Wow." He's being extremely dramatic.

I pick the girl up off of the ground, cradling her in my arms, "Come here sweetheart."

"No," she cries back.

"It's okay," I coo into her ear. "You don't know how you got here, you don't know who or what attacked you that night in the woods. Do you understand Vicki? You don't remember any of this."

After the girl nods I get up and walk away from her.

"What happened? Where am I? I pulled my stitches open," Vicki slurs her words, fingers covered in blood from where she had just touched her neck.

"You okay?" Stefan asks keeping his distant.

"I took some pills man, I'm good," she answers before getting up and walking back down the roof access stairs. I don't think she'll be any worse for wear.

"It's good to be home," I say looking out over the town square. "I think I might stay a while. This town could use a bit of a wakeup call don't you think?"

"What you up to Damon? What are you and Elizabeth up to?"

"That's for us to know and you to dot, dot, dot," I scoff. I can't believe Stefan really believes that I would clue him in on why I returned to Mystic Falls. "Give Elena my best."

With that I jump off the roof. I have one more thing to take care of before going to rejoin Elizabeth for the night.

It's very dark and most of the people have gone home before the blonde comes out of the restaurant that most of the high school students seem to populate. She already has her keys out ready to use incase she's attacked.

Manipulating the wind I cause it to rustle the trees, the blonde spinning around, surveying the area for possible danger. She's getting close to her car. Another rustling of the trees causes the girl to drop her keys as she goes to put them in the lock.

As she bends down I slide in between her and the car when she stands we come face to face. Blondie gasps, a small smile creeping over her lips. She's more than a little bit happy to see me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I say, offering her a smile.

"No, it's fine. I was hoping I'd see you again," she answers.

"I know."

"Cocky much?"

"Very," I answer with a sly smile. "I'm Damon by the way.

"Caroline. Would you want to come over to my house?"

"I'd like that very much."

Caroline unlocks her car allowing me to get in the passenger seat. She drives quickly through the town streets apparently eager to get home.

Once we get to the house she pulls me towards her bedroom her hands already roaming my body. I kiss her jaw, moving up and down her neck as unnecessary pieces of clothes are thrown around the room. Laying Caroline down on the bed I begin to kiss up her stomach, working my way towards her neck. As she moans I let the urge to feed take over, biting into her neck and letting the warm blood wash over my tongue.

**Authors Note: I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. Feel free to leave questions and comments either as reviews or you can even private message me I don't mind. Happy reading :) **


	3. New Connections, Dastardly Deeds

"Shouldn't you be in class," I ask the younger Gilbert as he leans up against the brick wall of the school offering me a cigarette from out of his pocket. Taking it I allow him to light it for me both of us smoking for a while before the conversation continues.

"I've never seen you around school before," Jeremy answers back, blowing smoke out of his nose.

"I'm too old for high school. I graduated a long time ago," I answer back. "I'm Elizabeth by the way."

Jeremy takes my outstretched hand without any hesitation. These stoner kids are way too trusting. "Jeremy."

"Nice, you're Elena's brother, right?"

Jeremy nods, tossing his cigarette to the ground squashing it underneath his foot. He slides down the wall, taking a seat on the gravel that covers the ground. His gaze stays on me, eyes squinting together as if he actually needs glasses but is just refusing to wear them. Not sure what else to do I sit with him. The only way into this kid's world is to sit and listen. I think that's what he really needs right now, a real, true friend. I'm willing to be that friend in exchange for a pint or two of blood here and there.

"I heard about your parents. I'm sorry for your loss. I lost my parents too, when I was really young. It's a tragic thing."

The boy glances at me as if he's surprised that I know his story, "Really? How'd you deal?"

"Like you. I rebelled, stopped talking to people. I got really mean and picked fights with people. I don't know if you want to hear it but I'll tell you a secret. At the end of the day, acting like this it doesn't really help anything. It just makes it worse."

Jeremy looks at me, "I know. I just…I'm not Elena. I don't have a new girl to fall back on. I don't make friends easily. Most of the friends I did have stopped talking to me after what happened."

"There has to be somebody that you like in the school, one person you connect with," I offer. For the short time I've been watching him I've noticed Jeremy follows the girl Damon attacked around like a puppy dog. He'll be devastated when he finds out that she's dead.

"Vicki Donovan, but she's with Tyler. I saw her this morning and she couldn't even tell me that she wasn't just with me for drugs."

His words catch me off guard. Damon didn't finish off the girl. What the hell is he thinking? Has Damon Salvatore gone soft? The next time I see him I'm going to have to talk to him about cleaning up his messes and making sure he covers his tracks. I'm not about to repeat what happened all those years ago just because he's careless.

"She doesn't deserve you then."

"Why are you even here? If you're too old to be in high school why are you hanging around the back of one? Can't you get in trouble?"

"No, I can make the police do whatever I want. I can make anyone do what I want them to do," I answer back. I might as well let Jeremy know what he's getting into before this whole things starts. More times than not I actually enjoy feeding when the human knows what I am and what I'm capable of. It makes them more compliant.

"What are you talking about?"

"I can control people with my mind."

Jeremy laughs, "What kind of drugs are you on?"

"None," I move over so I'm sitting in front of him, our eyes locked together. "You will believe every word I say as the truth."

"I will believe every word you say as the truth," Jeremy whispers back to me as the bell rings inside the school.

"Hey, let me get you something to eat," I offer, helping Jeremy up off the ground.

Together we walk through the nearly empty streets towards the Mystic Grill on the way Jeremy explains to me exactly what happened with his parents and why it affects him the way it does. I listen intently, hanging onto his every word, trying to make him feel important. In truth I could care less what he's going on about. All I care is that I've got him under my spell. He'll listen to everything I say and absorb it like a sponge. Humans get increasingly simple minded as the years go on.

As Jeremy eats a burger and fries I sip a soda, letting the bubbles fill my mouth, fizzing their way down my throat.

"What are you exactly? Like why can you control people? Are you a witch or something?" Jeremy questions in between fries.

"No, I'm a vampire but you can't run around telling people. The town will go mad. It has to be our secret, okay?" I answer back, turning in my seat to face him.

"Of course," he answers back. "So do you like eat people? How are you able to be out during the day?"

I can't help but laugh. He's so curious. I'm beginning to think that even without my compulsion Jeremy would've taken everything I gave him and processed it just the same way he is now. Kids like him always seem to be open to these kinds of things.

"I'll explain it all later. We can go back to my house if you'd like."

Jeremy shakes his head, "My sisters having some bullshit dinner party with Stefan and Bonnie. Why don't you come over, we can order take out and just chill in my room."

He's obviously a home body; either that or he got busted by his guardian and isn't allowed out. Either way it's a foot inside of Elena's house and that helps me out a lot. "That sounds wonderful to me. I'll see you around seven."

Jeremy nods as I lay down enough money to cover the bill and then some and walk out of the restaurant, right now I need to find Damon.

….

"Damon!" I yell out as I enter the Salvatore manor, slamming the door behind me. "Damon, where are you!"

The blue eyed vampire appears at the top of the stairs, flashing me a devilish smile. In his hand is a leather bound book, the year printed on the spine. I walk up the stairs, following Damon to Stefan's room, standing behind Damon who is seated at the desk, moved out into the middle of the room, away from the window which is in the middle of being fixed. Zach likes to keep up the appearance of the house.

"Is that one of Stefan's diaries?" I question reading over my boyfriend's shoulder, my previous anger with him washing away. We can talk about Vicki later.

"You guessed it," Damon answers, eyes never leaving the page.

"You devil, you," I giggle as Stefan walks through the door.

"How where tryouts," asks Damon before Stefan can even get all the way into his room. "Did you make the team? Very Emerson, the way you reveal your soul in so many…"

Stefan rips his diary out of his brother's hand, replacing it on a bookshelf nearby. I can tell that he's agitated. Stefan has always hated people going through his things.

"Adjectives…" Damon finishes his sentence with a grin.

"You really should learn to hide your things in better places if you don't want people going through them Stefan," I say, sitting down on Damon's lap.

"What are you two doing here?"

"I've come to apologize. I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching, and…I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us. You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life, then I want that for you. Maybe even Elizabeth and I can do it too. Maybe we can learn to be non-living, living people. Maybe there's hope for all of us." Damon says trying to keep a straight face. In the end he fails, both of us falling into a fit of laughter for a minute before regaining our composure.

Stefan looks unimpressed, "You know, it doesn't have to be this way Damon."

"Of course it does," he answers as we get up, making our way over towards the door. "I saw Elena today, btw. That means "by the way." She was at cheerleading practice. She looked so perky in her little short shorts."

The emotions that flash in Stefan's eyes are ones of rage. He's become very protective of this little human girl. I wouldn't put it past him to try to have a go with Damon again.

"Just…simmer down," Damon says, holding his hands up in surrender. "I didn't even go near her. I've got my own cheerleader now and an amazing girlfriend. Oh, that reminds me…I gotta run. I have a date."

With that Damon and I walk out of Stefan's room and down into the parlor.

"Did you have any luck with the Gilbert kid?" Damon asks pouring himself a drink.

"Yeah, he invited me over for takeout," I respond. "He also mentioned that he saw Vicki earlier that morning which is strange to me cause I thought you said you'd take care of her."

Damon shrugs, "When I say that I don't always mean I'm going to kill the person. With Vicki it's better to keep her alive. I was going to use her to run Stefan out of town but then he said he wouldn't mind being dead so I made her forget and think it was an animal that attacked her. She won't be a problem at all."

"Alright," I reply, standing behind the couch that he sits on. "I'm going over to Jeremy's at six. His sister's having a dinner party with some girl and Stefan so he wants company. You should bring your girl past. I'm pretty sure she's friends with all of them."

Damon nods, "I'll probably stop by. Caroline's starting to get on my nerves though. She talks more than I care to listen but I don't feel like putting in the effort to compel her to shut her mouth when I'm around plus I feel like her friends would know something's up."

"All humans are annoying Damon, you just have to learn to deal with them," I respond before heading up the room I've over taken to get dressed.

Jeremy really isn't one who I care if he's impressed by what I wear or not. A plain tee shirt and jeans will do just fine. I get bored waiting around, the minutes on the little digital clock seem to be moving ever so slow as I fix my hair for the fifth time. I still have thirty more minutes to kill before it's acceptable to head over.

"You look nice," Stefan says from my doorway.

I roll my eyes, "What do you want?"

"Nothing," he answers innocently. "You know whatever you and Damon are planning isn't going to work."

Suddenly I am inches away from his face, hand ready to rip through his chest and pull his heart out, "You have no idea what we're planning and if you think you can stop us by trying to talk rationally or to avoid the problem you're kidding yourself. This is way above you Stefan. I'd stay out of our way if I was you."

With that I shove past him, heading towards the front door. "I'll see you later Damon!"

My handsome boyfriend appears in front of me, "What, no kiss?"

I laugh, planting a kiss on his full lips before pulling the door open and heading down the drive.

Jeremy pulls the door open before I even have time to knock. He's obviously been anxious either that or he's trying to get me in before anyone see's and tells him I can't be there.

Although he beckons for me to come in I cannot. This stupid vampire thing only allows me into a home if I've been formally invited. Jeremy seems to be a little slow on figuring this out.

"Jeremy," I say kindly, "you have to invite me in."

He smiles, "You can come in."

I return the smile following him up the stairs and towards a door covered in warming signs and band art. He opens the door and shuts it again quickly. His whole room smells of weed and booze. I'm surprised no one has caught on to this yet.

"So is that like a vampire thing, not being able to come in unless invited?" Jeremy questions looking between me and te container of noodles he has in his hand. "Can you eat?"

I laugh, actually finding it kind of endearing how curious and naïve he is about the whole thing. I'm so used to being around people who just know how vampires work. It'll be interesting explaining everything to him.

"Yeah it's a vampire thing and yeah I can eat. As long as I've been feeding properly I can live pretty much like a normal human though I prefer blood to food and I need this nifty little ring to let me walk around in the sun," I explain showing off my silver ring with a little ruby set inside.

"That's awesome," Jeremy answers, shoving food in his mouth. "Um…is it gonna hurt if you feed off of me?"

"I could compel you not to feel the pain if you'd like but if I don't yeah, it'll hurt."

Downstairs I can hear the doorbell ring. Stefan must have just gotten here. I wonder if he knows that I'm sitting upstairs with his girlfriend's little brother preparing him to be fed on until he's of no more use. I can only imagine how upset he'd be about that one.

Getting up I look around Jeremy's room for something to write on. It's probably better if for right now Stefan didn't know that I now have access to the Gilbert house. Elena's little dinner party would probably end up going much different than she planned. I'd hate to do that to her.

Jeremy gives me a confused look, shrugging his shoulders. I make a writing motion in the air and he nods, pulling out a black cellphone from his pocket. He types out something and then hands it to me.

**What's going on? **

** Stefan can't know I'm here. **

** Why?**

** It wouldn't end well. **

Jeremy just shakes his head, sliding his phone back into his pocket, "Aren't you stronger than Stefan?"

I nod my head, "Yeah cause Stefan only eats animals plus I'm older than him."

"Can you tell me the story? Like what happened?"

"Maybe another time," I respond moving closer to him. "This won't hurt, okay?"

He nods just seconds before I dig my teeth into the flesh of his neck.

"You don't mind if I use the window do you?" I question as Jeremy continues to dab at the bite on his neck with a spare t-shirt.

"No, hey, how long is this gonna last for?"

"A couple days," I answer. "Wear a hoodie."

Pushing the window open I sit on the ledge for a few seconds before letting myself drop softly onto the Gilbert's front lawn. Turning around I blow a kiss to Jeremy who is looking out the window after me. He smiles and returns it before I walk away, the night swallowing me up.

Damon returns home long after I'd retired for the night. He come in and kisses my forehead before curling up in bed with me. His arms snake around my body, holding me close to his chest. I fall asleep listening to his gentle breathing.

…

"Do we really have to go to this thing?" I question as Jeremy drags me towards a crowd of high school students gathered around a burning football uniform. There's a reason why I don't play Stefan's game. I just couldn't go through high school again and again…it ever changes.

Somewhere Damon is amongst the bodies, waiting for his chance to make Stefan's life miserable. I wish I was with him. There is nothing I enjoy more than watching the Salvatore brothers go at it. It's entertainment at its best. But, for now, I have to keep up the facade that I'm starting to like Jeremy just as Damon has to pretend that he's into the over preppy cheerleader, Caroline.

"Yeah, it's actually kinda fun," Jeremy answers, handing me a bottle of Jack Daniels. I take a few swigs before handing it back to him.

"Everything's fun when you're drunk," I respond before getting up and wandering away. In truth Jeremy is just a boring stoner. There's nothing more to it than that. He has no depth. I get bored easily with people like that. When I see him next I'll give him some bullshit excuse about going to the bathroom.

"There you are," Damon says from behind me as I walk down the alley between the school and locker rooms.

"Here I am," I answer turning around and giving him a hug. "Where have you been?"

"I'm avoiding Caroline."

"Ahh," I answer. "You're dates being annoying too."

My boyfriend nods before stopping to lean up against the brick wall of the locker rooms just as Stefan walks by.

Damon claps, getting his younger brother's attention, "Isn't that nice? Stefan joins a team and makes a friend."

"It's all so 'rah, rah, go team, yeah!" I add on imitating the cheerleaders.

"Not tonight, I'm done with both of you," Stefan answers back sharply.

"Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess…vervain in the necklace? I admit, I was a bit surprised. It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Guess I could just seduce her the old-fashioned way. Or I could just…eat her," Damon offers up just to get under Stefan's skin.

"No. You're not gonna hurt her, Damon and neither with Elizabeth."

"No?" I question quite intrigued as to why he may think this.

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her," Stefan continues getting in Damon's face. "I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you that you may have actually become the monster you pretend to be."

"Who's pretending?"

"Then kill me."

"Gladly," I hiss back, ready to rip Stefan's head from his shoulders. Damon stops me before I can move.

"Well, I'm…I'm tempted," Stefan's older brother says.

"No, you're not. Your girlfriend might but you never will. You've had a lifetime to do it, and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years, Katherine is dead, you have her sister yet you hate me because you loved her. You torture me because you still do, because Elizabeth isn't enough for you. And that, my brother is your humanity," Stefan explains.

"You're a liar!" I yell back at him, fighting Damon's grip trying to get at Stefan's throat.

Just then a middle ages man walks around the corner, "Salvatore! What the hell? We've got a game to play!"

Suddenly an evil smile plays across Damon's face, "If that's my humanity…then what's this?"

He lunges at the man, tearing into his jugular until all the blood is gone.

"No!" Stefan yells.

"Anyone, anytime, anyplace," Damon answers back. "Oh, and brother, you've got it wrong. I never loved Katherine…it was always Elizabeth; even you can't deny that."

**Authors Note: Shout out to HannahDanyelle for the follow and KatherineSnow for the favorite. Hope you all enjoy. **


	4. Founders Day

Elena's eyes fly open as the floor boards creak just outside her bedroom door. Silently, she climbs out of bed, arms wrapped around her thin frame as if it will block out the cold and protect her from whatever it is that's making noises inside her house.

"Hello? Jeremy? Hello?" she whispers down the hallway, peeking her head around the frame of her bedroom door, clearly frightened of taking that one extra step out into the open. Shivering with fright Elena tries to turn on the light but unfortunately for her the power is out, leaving her stranded in the dark.

Suddenly the television snaps on, causing the already frightened girl to jump, spinning around to face the local news man who is now talking at her through the screen. "This is Logan Fell coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack. The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim, local high school student Elena Gilbert. Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks."

"You know what happens next."

Confused and unable to process this information in her paralyzed mental state Elena quickly runs downstairs and throws open the front door. Upon seeing the dark, looming figure standing outside she slams it shut but it's too late, as she goes to walk back up the stairs the vampire attacks, biting into her neck.

Stefan jolts awake, "Ah!"

"Bad dream?" I question from the corner, holding Elizabeth in front of me. "Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now? You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field."

Stefan snarls at me, clearly not in the mood for jokes.

"Football reference," I add on just in case he didn't understand. "Too soon?"

Stefan picks up a knife he keeps beside his bed and aims it at Elizabeth and me. Quickly I push her out of the way, taking the weapon straight to the stomach. The veins under Elizabeth's eyes begin to bubble up to the surface, a growl ripping through her throat. With one hand I hold her back from attacking Stefan while I pull the knife out with the other. My brother has never been much of a morning person. I guess some things just don't change.

"All right, I deserved that. But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing coach Tanner and all those people," I explain hoping this will brighten my little brother's mood.

"What are you talking about?"

Elizabeth yawns, as if the whole thing is boring her, "It was a mountain lion. _Really _big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news. 'Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls."

"Why would you two cover your tracks?" Stefan says, eyebrows scrunched together in a look of confusion.

"We've decided to stay a while," I explain. "And I'm having way too much fun here with you and Elizabeth and Caroline and Elena."

"Can't touch her now," Stefan answers, getting up out of his bed.

"Well, vervain keeps me out of her head. Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift," I say, holding Elizabeth a little tighter as she nuzzles her head against my chest. God she's a miracle.

Calmly, I let Elizabeth go; taking the knife I've been holding onto and drive it into Stefan's stomach. He gasps, holding onto the handle sticking out of his front as he crumples up on the ground. His animal only diet is beginning to kill him. Blows like that shouldn't faze a vampire.

"This is John Varvatos," I say, pointing towards my not ruined shirt. "Dick move."

Elizabeth and I move down into the kitchen flipping on the television as Zach moves around making himself breakfast. He's slowly becoming a nuance, always lurking around, constantly in our business. He needs to learn his place.

"I can confirm that a 12- Foot puma mountain lion attacked a hunter and was subsequently shot and killed. The hunter is in stable condition," the sheriff says.

Zach looks over at Elizabeth and I, his eyes wide, "You covered things up."

"Duh," Elizabeth answers getting into his face. Of all the vampires that he's ever met, Elizabeth scares Zach the most.

"I don't understand. Uncle Stefan said you were just passing through."

I have to laugh at this. He's so gullible. He'll believe anything "Uncle Stefan" says. It's absolutely pathetic. I can't wrap my head around just how ridiculously stupid Zach is as a person. He gives the human kind a really awful name. Of course Elizabeth and I wouldn't just be passing through. That's not really our thing.

Zach, a look of outrage on his face, stomps out of the kitchen.

"I think I'm going to ask Jeremy to the founder's day ball," Elizabeth announces, looking through the refrigerator.

"I guess I'll invite Caroline," I respond, confused as to why Elizabeth and I wouldn't just got together. Then again I know she always has a plan and a purpose behind everything. Maybe it's to show Stefan that I'm not the only enemy that has infiltrated the Gilbert household.

"Sounds just fine to me," Elizabeth says. "I guess I should probably go look for a dress."

I nod as the brunette walking out of the kitchen. After a few minutes of spinning a glass around in my hands I decide it would probably be best to pay Caroline a visit.

"No yellow. Jaundice. Go for the blue," I instruct Caroline who is standing in front of her mirror wearing this awful, long, flowing yellow dress, Yellow is not a flattering color on anyone. I lay across her bed flipping through a large black book about a vampire, a werewolf, and a human girl. It's a mundane read but it gives me something to do.

"I don't like the blue," Caroline answers, being her usual stubborn self.

"Well, I do. And if I'm going to be your date –"

Caroline cuts me off mid-sentence, "You cannot be my date. My mom is going to be there, and she is a very proud gun owner."

I frown. If I don't take Caroline I go alone or I don't go at all. Neither one of those are a suitable option. I need to be there to keep an eye on Jeremy as well as to annoy the shit out of my brother.

"I went through a lot of trouble to make sure this party wasn't cancelled. It's very important I be there. Please take me."

"You should come to the founder's party with me," Caroline responds cheerfully

"Not if you're wearing that dress," I answer, nodding at the one she still has on. "What's so special about this Bella girl? Edward's so whipped."

Caroline laughs, pulling on another dress from her closet, "You gotta read the first book first. It won't make sense if you don't."

"Ah, I miss Anne Rice. She was on it."

"I like Edwards best," Caroline answers still under the impression we're talking about this book.

"Well that's a good thing. If you liked the werewolf we'd have some issues."

Caroline laughs, "How come you don't sparkle?"

"Because I live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun."

Blondie does not look pleased with my response, "Yeah, but you go in the sun."

It's going to be one of _those_ days. I should've compelled Caroline not to talk when it was just the two of us. "I have a ring. It protects me. Long story."

"Will these bites turn me into a vampire?" Caroline questions, gently touching the mark that is on her back.

"It's more complicated than that." I answer, closing the book. "You'd have to feed on my blood, then die, and then feed on a human's, it's a whole ordeal. This book –" I nudge the Twilight book with the tip of my shoe " – by the way, has it all wrong."

Reaching up I pull Caroline down onto the bed, rolling her over so that I am on top. She giggles as I gently lay kisses from her lips down to her neck and back up, pulling away in order to gently stroke her face.

Tonight I'm going to try my best to put up with her questions and be as nice to her as possible. I think right now it's what she needs. She's just curious, all this is very new to her and I'm sure it's hard to process. Elizabeth is probably going through the same thing with Jeremy.

"You can be very sweet when you want to be," Caroline mumbles.

"Yes, I can be sweet."

Caroline signs, "Are you going to kill me?"

This girl is much smarter than I originally pegged her for. She's figured out my plan of action rather quickly though I have to admit it shouldn't have been very hard to deduce. I'm a vampire, I eat humans. Simple logic would have worked.

"Mm-hmm, but not yet," I answer back softly, still running my fingers over her soft skin.

"Why not," she questions innocently.

"Because there's something I need you to do for me," I respond.

"Anything," Caroline answers, her voice suggesting that she's willing to do any type of dirty work as long as it means prolonging her life. They're all the same that way, so eager to help as if that will keep them alive longer or make me change my mind. It never works.

"How good are you at getting that little nose of yours where it doesn't belong?" I ask, quickly touching her nose.

Caroline smiles, "Oh, I'm excellent."

"Mmm," I mumble, heading towards the door. "I'll pick you up later, wear that dress."

Returning home I head to the parlor, hoping to find one of Stefan's diaries lying about so that I can finish reading his riveting description of Elena, Elizabeth and myself. I find it funny that he needs to write everything down as if he's actually going to forget something. Then again if he continues on this diet of animal blood he just might. Instead of finding diaries, I find Stefan's school work lying out on the coffee table. It all seems silly and like a big waste of time. He's spent half his life relearning things he's lived through.

A stair creaks as someone enters the room, "I didn't know you were here."

Lifting my eyes from the page I see Zach. He's being his usual nosy self, something I'm not in the mood for today. He better watch what he says. "Just going through Stefan's homework. Boy, this country sure has dumbed down in the last hundred years. Why he wants to go to high school is beyond me. I mean, in the seventies, he went Ivy League. Harvard, I understood. Actually, no, I didn't get that either."

Zach stands there and listens to me go on about school, the whole time shifting his weight from foot to foot. He obviously has something that he wants to ask me.

"Go ahead, purge. Get it out. What's on your mind?"

"Why are you here, Damon? Why did you bring Elizabeth back here?"

I close Stefan's school work and place it on the floor, laying my head back against the arm of the couch, "To spend time with you, Zach, family's important."

"I know you both. You always have a motive. So tell me, what is it this time?"

I move over to Zach and grab him by the throat. He's done a lovely job of pissing me off and he's about to pay drastically for it.

"You are in no position to question me or Elizabeth."

"I didn't mean to upset you," Zach murmurs, his eyes downcast.

"This is not upset Zach," I answer before Stefan walks into the room. Leave it to my brother to ruin all the fun.

"What's going on?"

Sighing, I release Zach, letting him fall back to the ground, "Having a family moment Stefan, spending some quality time."

"Elizabeth's home," Stefan says, eyeing Zach who has now stood up, his fingers massaging his neck. "She wants you to go look at her dress."

Nodding I leave Stefan and Zach behind, walking down the shadowed hallway towards the small bedroom Elizabeth has taken over though most nights she ends up in my room or we fall asleep in the parlor.

"Stefan said you wanted to see me," I announce walking in on Elizabeth who is struggling slightly to get the back of her ruby red dress zipped up.

"Yeah, can you zip this?"

Walking over I take the tiny zipper pull and tug it upwards, letting my fingers trail over the creamy skin of Elizabeth's back. Her breath hitches but she remains with her back to me, not even turning her head. After the dress is zipped I step away allowing Elizabeth to turn to face me.

The red dress hugs her breasts, flowing out as it reaches her hips, the bottom, which reaches her knees, moving like water blown by wind. Elizabeth looks amazing and I'm quite upset that she will not be my date for tonight.

The beautiful vampire in front of my giggles as I stare at her in awe, "What do you think?"

"You look amazing. I definitely won't be able to compete for best dressed with you there," I answer trying to play it cool even though I know she already knows how struck I am by her.

"There's no harm in trying," Elizabeth answers before moving past me towards the bathroom to fix her hair or something else that girls do to in order to get ready for these kinds of things.

Sighing I walk back down the hallway to my room, pulling the tux out of my wardrobe, laying it down across the bed. Slowly I pull off my pants and shirt. Sliding on the tuxedo pants I look at myself in the mirror. I actually don't mind this vampire thing. Being this good looking for the rest of my life won't be a problem at all. I have the girl, can get any girl I could need and I'm the envy of most mortal guys. My life is pretty much perfect.

I walk down the hallway to Stefan's room where he is also getting dressed stopping in front of the mirror. He frowns at me, rolling his eyes as he unties his shoe.

"Do they still wear ties at this thing?" I question.

"Why are you even going?"

"It's only fitting. We were at the very first one, remember? Besides I wanna be there to make sure Jeremy keeps his hands to himself."

"I think it's better if we don't draw attention to ourselves."

I sigh, holding up various ties in front of my bare chest, "So you should stay here. I'll see to it Elena has a good time."

I notice Stefan take a drink from a glass set on the table beside him as well as the decanter he must've brought up with him. Its scotch, something he's never drunken before. Stefan has always been a whiskey man. Something is definitely up. "My goodness, I've driven you to drink."

My brother shrugs as if it doesn't really bother him. His trying to pull of Elizabeth's bored face is quite pathetic and I have to hold back a laugh. "Can't seem to rid myself of you. What else and I supposed to do, besides go about living my life?"

"Go about living my life," I respond back finishing up getting dressed. "See, therein lies your eternal struggle. You're dead, dude. Get over it."

Stefan looks agitated.

"What do you think?" I question, turning so that I'm fully facing him.

My little brother rolls his eyes. He's never liked it that I try to change the subject while he's trying to have important conversations. I just feel like they're a waste of time. He's lived with me long enough to know that I'm not going to change my ways based off of the exchange of a few words.

"It's cool not growing old," I continue as I fix the collar of a black button up shirt I'd put on, "I like being the eternal stud."

"Yes, being a 150-year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness," Stefan answers sarcastically.

"You cracked a funny, Stefan. I should have a drink to celebrate." I answer moving over to the table. Before I pour my drink I pick up Stefan's picture of Katherine. "1864. You and Katherine were the perfect couple. It was hell watching you dance with her."

"My happiness was short-lived as you well know," Stefan answers blankly.

"I remember. I left the party early. I was waiting for her or her sister…whichever. The night you dropped her off, I was waiting just inside. You were such a gentleman, gave her a kiss on the cheek. And what she really wanted was…" I trail off, shrugging. "Oh well. Here's to history repeating itself, huh?"

Taking the bottle Stefan had brought up I pour myself some scotch into Stefan's empty glass. I go to take a sip but just as I put the glass to my lips I inhale, the rich smell of vervain filling my nostrils. I can't believe this. My own brother, my flesh and blood, is trying to poison me. Smiling cruelly, I dump the liquid on the floor, the glass falling after, shattering into a million reflective pieces that cast rainbows around the room where the sun catches them.

"I admire your effort, Stefan. Pouring yourself a drink then spiking the bottle with vervain. I'm not some drunken sorority chick. You can't roofie me and you'd better not try it on Elizabeth because she won't keep her head like I am. I can't help but feel a little used. I thought we were having a moment. I have to go to the party angry. Who knows what I'll do."

With that I push past my little brother, heading towards the front door. I'm going to be late picking up Caroline now.

The blonde is waiting for me on the porch. Her hair is slightly curled and the top layer is pulled back. She's wearing the blue dress matched with a scarf that I bought her to match. Caroline isn't Elizabeth but she doesn't look bad.

"You're late," she says, climbing into the passenger side of my car.

"Maybe your clock is fast," I answer sharply before speeding off towards the Lockwood's house where the ball is being held.

Caroline insists that I'm introduced to everyone at this party as her boyfriend. I humor her, my arm wrapped around her waist, being drug from person to person as we wait in line to be greeted and invited inside by the Lockwoods. I'm in no mood to be polite but I've got no choice. In order to fit in and keep an eye on Jeremy this has to happen.

"Caroline!" a woman standing just inside the door way exclaims. "You look smashing."

Caroline smiles back, "Thank you, Mrs. Lockwood. This is my boyfriend Damon."

"Oh, well, come on in," Mrs. Lockwood answers.

Blondie pushes me forward as if the invitation is revoked a few seconds after it is spoken.

I smile sweetly as the mayor's wife, "Lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while."

"Well, enjoy."

With that Mrs. Lockwood walks away, going off to talk to other people who have now begun to enter the house. I'm already bored. Stefan is nowhere to be found and it looks as if Elizabeth and Jeremy haven't arrived yet.

"Let's get a drink."

"Wait here," Caroline responds before walking over to talk with a woman who I'm assuming is her mother.

As I stand waiting Elena and Stefan arrive. He kisses her on the cheek as they enter the house. I glare at him, trying to figure out a way I can get back at my brother for what he did earlier. My thoughts are disrupted when Elizabeth enters the house, escorted by Jeremy. Their elbows are linked, Elizabeth still shorter than Jeremy even though she's wearing heels. Her hair is pinned up, a few curled pieces falling out of the bun that she's created. I'd give anything to be able to go up and kiss her.

Instead I turn towards where Elena and Stefan are, looking over the old guest registry and other relics from the founders of Mystic Falls.

"The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration," Elena ready aloud. "Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all the familiar names – Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?"

Elizabeth walks over to us, her hand resting gently on my arm, "The original Salvatore brothers. The names been passed down."

"Tragic story, actually," I muse, watching as Stefan's eyes grow dark with anger.

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," my baby brother answers.

"Isn't that the whole point of the founder's day ball, Stefan, to remember to the past," Elizabeth questions as Caroline walks up.

"It's not boring, Stefan. Elizabeth is right. I'd love to hear more about your family," Elena pipes up, buying right into my trap.

"Well, I'm bored," Caroline announces as if she's the most important person in the room. "And Damon won't dance with me."

"Mm-Mmm."

Elizabeth looks over at Caroline, "Damon has never been much of a dancer."

"Could I borrow your date?" Caroline asks, turning towards Elena, her eyes glued to Stefan. He's the one she's wanted since the beginning.

Elena looks flustered, "Oh, uh…"

"I don't really dance," Stefan answers quickly.

I roll my eyes, "Oh, sure he does. You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moon walk…"

Elizabeth cuts me off before I can go any further, "He does it all."

"You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?" Blondie asks, bringing out the puppy dog eyes for affect.

"It's up to Stefan."

Caroline turns to my brother, determination set on her face, "Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer."

And with that Blondie grabs my brother by the arm and pulls him towards the dance floor right outside of the back doors.

"I should probably go find Jeremy before he gets into trouble or drinks himself to death," Elizabeth announces.

"That's my brother you're talking about," Elena answers sharply.

Elizabeth shrugs, "You know it's the truth."

As Elena goes to say more I cut in, giving Elizabeth time to get out of ear shot. The last thing we need is someone to be attacked here. Everything is being smoothed over; another attack would unravel everything all over again.

"I want to apologize to you for being such a world – class jerk the other night when I tried to kiss you. There's no excuse. My therapist says I'm…acting out, trying to punish Stefan," I explain, rather proud of my ability to think on my feet.

"For what?" Elena asks.

"It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up. Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry. And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers. The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town until the war. There was a battle here…"

"The battle of Willow Creek," Elena cuts in.

"Right."

"I know we talked about it in class. Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."

So Stefan had told her about the church and the people who were inside. I wonder how much more he told her than that. Usually Stefan is good at coming up with some sort of lie to embellish his history lessons with but with this lack of human blood I doubt his mind is functioning at its full capacity.

"What the history books left out was the people were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be union sympathizers. So, some of the founders on the confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Stefan and Damon had someone they loved very much in that church. And when they went to rescue them, they were shot, murdered in cold blood," I explain.

Elena looks horrified at the story I had laid out for her. I guess she didn't realize people could be so cruel to others.

"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?"

I shrug, "A woman, I guess. Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"

"Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just…I hope you two can work it out."

"I hope so too."

My eyes search the room for Elizabeth but I guess she's still out looking for Jeremy or else trying her best to keep him out of trouble. I can't imagine how that's going based on my knowledge of how much she enjoys babysitting whiny humans.

Strolling out towards the dance floor I bump into Caroline who has obviously grown tired of dancing with Stefan, either that or he couldn't stand to hear her speak any longer. I'm about done with the blonde bimbo. I can get Elizabeth to do the same thing I was going to use Caroline for.

"What'd we miss?" I question.

"We were just chatting," Stefan answers. "Drink, Damon?"

I frown at him, "No thanks, I'll pass."

"Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" Elena says.

"Absolutely," my brother answers, leading his date towards the dance floor.

For a few minutes Caroline and I stand outside as she drinks her champagne.

"They look so cute together," Caroline swoons.

"Don't talk please."

Aggravated Caroline walks away from me. Turning around I head back inside to the bar. The seat next to mine is soon occupied by a woman wearing a blood red dress. Turning towards her I smile.

"I've not seen enough of you tonight Elizabeth."

"I've been babysitting. Jeremy got himself drunk and has been trying to go after Tyler all night. It's all I can do to not snap his neck right here."

I slide the rest of my drink towards her, figuring she needs it more than I do.

"Do you remember where I put that necklace I hid all those years ago. I gave it to you but we had to hide it the night that everything happened?"

Elizabeth nods, "It's upstairs. If they left things alone it should be in that wooden box a little glass display."

"Thank you my love. Don't leave until I get a dance," I instruct before kissing her temple and heading up the stairs to try and find the heirloom of my past.

"Where have you been?" an ever familiar voice sounds from below me as I reach the second floor landing

Spinning around I flash the blonde girl a fake smile going over and taking her hand, guiding her towards the first room we come to, "Ah…looking for you."

"Your brother barely danced with me for five minutes –" Caroline rages.

"Ok, just a minute. Stand right there," I answer positioning her so that she's looking out the doors that lead into the room.

I search through the various boxes of stuff left up in this room. It has to be here still. No one would just discard something like this. It's a party of history.

Pulling out one of the wooden boxes I open in and laying right inside is the crystal that I'm looking for. Just where I left it.

"Um, you're not supposed to touch," Caroline says, walking over to me. "What is that?"

Blondie goes on blabbing her mouth as I grab the jewel out of a case, heading back down the stairs with her. I really wish I had compelled the girl to keep her mouth shut.

"A very important crystal," I answer.

"Well how did you know that it was there?"

"Because I put it there."

"When?"

"A long time ago," I respond. "Tonight, I'm taking it back, thanks to you."

Caroline looks utterly confused, "Well, what's it for?"

"Never you mind."

"Well, you can't just steal it."

I don't understand why Caroline is being so difficult tonight. Usually she'd just take my word for it and move on. Why all of a sudden does Blondie have to decide to be a good citizen and care so much about Mystic Falls' history and artifacts?

"It's not stealing if it's mine. Come on."

"Well…"

Grunting I tug on Caroline's arm, encouraging her to come with me but letting her know that if she doesn't I have no problem using force in front of all of these people. I'm not used to having my actions questioned by anyone except Stefan and to say it aggravates me would be an understatement.

Eventually I send her off to the bathroom. It's easier to work without her constantly talking in my ear. With the peace and quiet I actually have time to collect my thoughts.

Suddenly Elena appears, her hands connecting with my chest, "There is something seriously wrong with you. You stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff. You got it? Stay away from her."

Growling under my breath I wait for Caroline to come out of the bathroom. Grabbing her by the shoulder I drag her out onto the lawn. She better have a damn good explanation for this.

"Don't! She took it off and I got flustered, okay?! I didn't know what to say. But I swear, ok, I did not tell her. I just told her that you didn't mean to hurt me," Caroline cries.

Turning her around I wrap my arms around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder, "You make me crazy, you know that? It's okay, I forgive you."

"I swear I didn't say…"

"Shh, shh, shh," I try and sooth her. "It's okay. Unfortunately…I am so over you now."

I dig my teeth into her neck but only a few seconds in my throat begins to burn, the pain causing me to fall, bringing Caroline down with me.

"What the hell?" I grunt as Stefan walks over towards me, Elizabeth running across the yard to come kneel at my side.

"You know, I couldn't spike your drink….So I spiked hers," Stefan explains.

Elizabeth glares up at my younger brother, the veins under her eyes bubbling, the fangs pushing through. She snarls, "You're life will be a living hell hole Stefan Salvatore."

**Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long to update things have been a little busy. I'll try to get the next chapter up by the end of the week. Shout out to everyone whose been reading, favoriting and commenting. Keep them coming please. To answer the question asked in the comment. yes, Damon is in love with Elizabeth who you will continue to find out more about as things go on. She's been a minor character so far but will actually start appearing more next chapter. Katherine is still a conflict between the boys but for a different reason. You'll have to read and find out. Happy reading. Please feel free to comment or PM me with any questions, comments, or suggestions. **


	5. Days Come to an End

I sit outside the cell that Stefan has shoved Damon in. I've fought with the younger Salvatore brother for three days; breaking his things, threatening Zach, spending night watching Elena sleep. Nothing seems to detour Stefan from his course of action. He's been injecting Damon with vervain on and off to keep him weak. In order to keep this from continuing, I've placed myself in the basement, attacking anyone who comes down. After breaking all of Zach's fingers Stefan stopped sending him down. Even the vampire himself hasn't made a showing yet today.

Damon grunts, "Fuck you Stefan."

Standing I look at him through the small bared window in the heavy wooden door. My perfect man looks so decrepit sprawled out on the floor, his beautiful blue eyes sunken into his skull. I hate seeing him like this. A creature like Damon should never be subject to such treatment. I would've had him out but Stefan has an impeccable ability to hide things. I've torn the entire house apart and have even gone through the Gilbert house and have come up with nothing.

"I'll get you out of here Damon," I whisper to him, wishing I could take his head and let it rest on my lap, give him some of the blood I've started to put into little glass jars so that I don't have to go out and hunt.

"Elizabeth," Damon groans back, lifting his hand slightly off the floor as if he's reaching for the door.

Just as I am about to answer the basement door opens and Stefan descends the stairs. Filled with rage I fly at him, pinning Damon's little brother against the brick wall, my fingers gripping just under his chin. Taking the container of liquid vervain from his hand I smash it onto the floor. I pull my nails over the flesh of his neck, causing him to wince in pain as the wounds bleed for a second and then close themselves again. I want to reach into his chest and pull his heart out. I want to rip the vampire limb for limb. The only thing that stops me is a feeble voice from behind the cell door.

"Where's my ring?"

"Won't be needing it anymore," Stefan answers with a smug smile on his face.

Reaching over I slap the smirk from his lips. How dare he? "You're scum Stefan. All you've ever cared about is Katherine. Why the hell else would you be into Elena, a rock has more personality than she does. Your ignorance has made you blind. Damon never loved Katherine!"

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days," I mumble back.

"What are you doing?"

I'd actually like to know that too. Stefan has Damon kept up down in the basement but he can't leave him here forever, eventually he'll run out of vervain or I'll find the key, or figure out how to get Damon out another way.

"During the dark ages when a vampire's actions threatened to expose or bring harm upon the entire race, they would face judgment. They sought to reeducate them rather than to punish them. Your little girlfriend would be in there too but Zach and I couldn't get her to calm down enough to get the vervain into her system."

Damon's lips slowly turn up into a smile, "That's my girl. You should know better than to try and cage the beast little brother."

"You're in no position to crack jokes Damon," Stefan answers firmly.

"You know what will happen if I don't…feed on blood," Damon responds on a more serious note.

"You'll grow weaker and weaker. Eventually you won't be able to move or speak. In a week your skin will desiccate, and you'll mummify. A living corpse, unable to hurt anyone…ever," Stefan explains.

Crying out in frustration I drive my hand into the stone wall, causing a few pieces of the rock to crumble off and hit the floor. I hate not being able to do anything. It's not even useful to hurt Stefan. He doesn't stay injured long enough for it to give me the satisfaction I'm looking for. I'd do me more too just break Zach's neck. None of this would be happening if he didn't decide he needed to grow vervain and then show Stefan.

"So what, you're just going to leave me in the basement, forever? It won't take Elizabeth that long to figure out how to get me out of here."

"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak. Once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt, and then in 50 years we can reevaluate."

"You'll be dead before then if I have anything to say about it Stefan. If you leave him in here a day longer your precious little Elena might just fall victim to this Mystic Falls monster. It'd be tragic if it's found out it wasn't really caught," I hiss at him.

"I'm stronger than you think," Damon answers his brother, his eyes traveling over towards me. He's doing all he can to try and comfort me.

"You always have been. But, you're not stronger than the vervain. We all know it. I'm sorry, it didn't have to be this way," Stefan answers before leaving the room. Picking up a marble door prop I hurl it at Stefan head. He shuts the door milliseconds before it hits him. I growl in agitation.

"Elizabeth," Damon says weakly, "I love you."

I give him a small smile, "I love you too Damon. I'll be back in a little bit."

He closes his eyes in response.

Opening the basement door, I enter the living room where Zach and Stefan are talking. Zach jumps back when he sees me, hiding his good hand behind his back. I glare at him as I cross the floor and plop down on the couch.

"He's awake. He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement. He's Damon and Elizabeth seems to be keeping close watch on him. I'm not sure how dangerous Damon might be," Stefan explains to Zach as he gathers up his things for school.

"I won't hesitate to drain your body of blood and string you up from a tree on Main Street if you so much as glance at the basement door," I add.

"You're going to school?"

"Came here to live a life," Stefan answers. "It's about time I get back to that and Elena, if she's still speaking to me."

"Why haven't you called her?"

"What am I supposed to do, feed her another lie? I hate lying to her, Zach. I'm not good at it. She already thinks I'm hiding something."

"You are. And if you're so awful at telling lies why don't you just tell the truth. Oh right, because Elena would never speak to you again. I can see it now," I start getting up and circling around campus. "Hey Elena I just wanted to let you know that I'm actually 150 years old and I'm also a vampire. That'll go over well."

Stefan rolls his eyes not amused. He needs to learn to take a joke once in a while.

"What choice do you have?" Zach asks. "You came here because you wanted to live as normal a life as you could. You knew this was going to be a part of it."

"I was handling it until my brother and Elizabeth showed up. I'll be home right after school," Stefan says before walking out the door.

"Don't worry Zach, as long as you stay hidden upstairs we won't have a problem. Or…you could tell me where Stefan hid the key to Damon's cell and we can get along for the remainder of the time that I'm here," I announce, lying down how today is going to play out. I feel like he should at least know what'll happen before I just torture him.

Zach sighs, "I don't know what Stefan did with the key; he didn't even tell me. This is for the best Elizabeth. Damon's a danger to us all."

"Huh," I respond the smile that I wore just a second before sliding from my face. Walking over to Zach I take his bandaged hand and pull his thumb back, re-breaking it. I smirk as his face contorts with pain. This helps ease the pain of seeing Damon like he is. "I'm sorry you feel that way Zach. I hope, for your safety's sake, that your opinion changes before I run out of fingers."

With that I push him to the ground, retreating back into the basement. I having a feeling he's beginning to get the point and if Zach doesn't maybe Stefan will.

An hour or maybe two or three hours, time gets lost in the basement due to a lack of windows or any sort of time keeping devise, Zach comes down the stairs. He holds his hands up in surrender as I stand up, ready to end his life if he tries anything.

"I just want to talk to him."

I wave my hand to let him know it's okay before taking a seat on the floor.

Damon gets up slowly and walks towards the door so he can look Zach in the face as the two converse. I'm sure the dark haired vampire has a few choice words to say to his family member.

"I'm full of vervain," Zach announces as if this will really keep him safe. "I've been putting it in my coffee for sixteen years. My blood will only make you worse."

"Get to the point Zach, I'm only giving you five minutes," I say back. The human has a hard time getting down to what he's actually supposed to, or feels the need to share. It's quite annoying.

"So it was your vervain. Good for you. Good for you. Family only runs so deep," Damon says, sounding as if some of his strength is coming back. The lack of vervain injections today has probably helped him. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have enough blood stored to get him back to full strength.

"We're not family, Damon, only in the most dysfunctional sense. In fact, I avoided having a living, breathing, loving family because of you," Zach explains.

"I don't guess I could talk you into bringing me a rabbit or something? I'd settle for Stefan's diet at this point."

Hearing Damon talk this way cuts me like a knife. He's always been strong and fierce, to hear his ask for something as silly as a rabbit is like watching a lion revert to eating grasses. It's sickening.

"You know I can't do that."

"You succeeded, Zach. I'm shutting down. You're like your grandfather. He didn't like it when I came to visit, either."

"But you don't visit, Damon," Zach answers clearly frustrated. It's as if he doesn't want this to be happening but doesn't see any other way of fixing things. "You appear unannounced, reminding me that this isn't my house; that you're just permitting me to live here. Hell; that you're permitting me to live."

"Someone had to mow the lawn," Damon answers.

I laugh, smiling at his ability to still crack jokes even in a time like this. Even as his body deteriorates Damon is still willing to have fun and is just witty as ever. I love that about him.

"I came to say good-bye, Damon."

Damon's hand flies through the bars, grabbing Zach around the neck. The human struggles against the vampires grasp. Zach should have listened to Stefan and stayed out of the basement.

"Unlock it. Unlock the door, Zach."

Suddenly Stefan is prying Zach out of Damon's grasp, shoving his back up towards the door. "Keep it up, Damon. The more energy you expend, the faster you'll go. Elizabeth, upstairs now, we need to talk."

Showing the younger Salvatore's back my middle finger I trudge up the stairs prepared to rip Stefan and Zach apart if they were to say something I didn't quite agree with.

"Elizabeth, Damon is in that cell for his own good. He's putting not just himself in danger but all of us. He needs to be taught a lesson and this is the most humane way I could come up with. I don't want to kill him because I know the bond you have but he can't continue walking around the streets of Mystic Falls," Stefan starts, deep brown eyes boring into mine.

"It's as if you actually care Stefan," I retort, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Nothing he can say will make me change my mind about this. It's wrong in every sense of the word.

"Uncle Stefan is just trying to do what's best to protect all of us," Zach steps in.

"Uncle Stefan, blah, blah, blah," I mock the human. "_Stefan, _only cares about one thing Zach… Do you know what that is?"

"Keeping the family secret safe," Zach responds quietly.

I make the sound of a buzzer going off, "Wrong! The only thing Stefan Salvatore cares about is Katherine. He'd throw you to the dogs if he had to. He's only here because he found this Elena girl who looks just like her. Stefan isn't as great of a guy as you think Zach. The sooner you realize that the better off you'll be."

"We both know I'm not just here because of Elena," Stefan answers back in his defense.

I have to laugh at this one. Stefan really thinks he has the wool over everyone's eyes. "Then why are you back?"

"I should ask you the same question."

"I asked first."

Damon's younger brother stares at me for a while, our eyes locked, seconds away from tearing each other's throats out. He doesn't have any more of an answer for me as I have for him. In the end we're all back for the same reason.

"That's what I thought," I speak up, before turning on my heel and heading back into the basement.

"What did my brother say?" asks Damon as I stand in front of his cell door.

"He gave me some bullshit about how this was for the best."

The dark haired vampire just nods, forcing his self to remain seated as far away from the vervain plants as possible. The second I can get in there I'm burning ever last one.

"What is I ripped down the door?" I offer.

"No!" yells Damon, his face appearing before the bared window. "When the cells where built my father meant for them to house vampires. He took into consideration that others of their kind would come to save them. So, he had the town witches curse the doors so that if a vampire pulls them off the hinges from the outside something awful happens."

"Damon, could you influence Caroline to get you out of here?"

Damon sighs, "I'm weaker than usual. I could try, but it might not work."

"It's all we've got," I answer as Stefan comes down stairs.

"Whatever you're plotting it's not going to work," he announces.

"I bet you're feeling pretty good about yourself, aren't you?" Damon answers.

Stefan shrugs, pacing up and down the narrow hallway, "Not particularly."

"You won. You got the bad guy. Now nothing could come between you and Elena."

"Except the truth," I add. "The lies will catch up with Stefan. Maybe not today, maybe not next week or next month, maybe not even next year but eventually Elena will find out what you are and I get the blabbermouth vide from her."

"As long as you keep lying to yourself about what you are nothing is ever going to change," Damon answers.

"The beauty of you in there and me out here…is that I can walk away," Stefan says before leaving.

"And stay out!" I holler after him. "Any luck with Caroline?"

"I got through to her but not to a point to persuade her to come here. I'm going to rest and see if I can get through to her tomorrow."

Nodding I lay down across the bench set along the brick wall. That stupid little human is our only hope in getting Damon out of this cell. I just hope she comes through.

It is late afternoon when I hear the cellar door pull open. There's no way it can be Stefan. He's at school helping with some car wash and Zach has learned his lesson after I re-broke his fingers. The man will be lucky if he can ever hold something in that hand again.

"Hello?"

"Caroline, help me," Damon says within his cell. "Caroline. Help me."

"Damon?" a girl's voice says from the top of the stairs. "Damon? Damon?"

Caroline enters the basement, eyes wide. I can tell she knows that she needs to be here but has no idea why. Venturing further in the girl sees Damon inside of his cell. Taken aback tears begin to fall from her face. "Oh, my god! What is this? How did I know that you were here?"

"Because I wanted you to," answers Damon softly. "Very, very badly. Let me out of here. Please?"

"You bit me," Caroline answers. She must have been compelled to find the key to the cell before she holds it half in and half out of the lock. The urge to rip it out of her hands overcomes me but I have to suppress it. Damon has to finish this.

"You liked it. Remember?"

"Why do I keep remembering the same things, but in different ways?"

"You remember what I want you to remember. And, now that the vervain has passed out of your system, you won't remember what you're about to do."

"What am I about to do?"

"You're gonna open the door," Damon answers coming to stand with this face pressed against the bars. "You're gonna open the door!"

As Caroline slips the key into the door and twists the lock Zach runs down the stairs, "No! No! Get out of here! Run! Run!"

Caroline drops the key and bolts towards the front door as Damon feeds on Zach who is now dead. I make no move to go after the girl. She'll be too confused to report the incident to anyone in town.

Damon, on the other hand, obviously see's Caroline as a liability and rushes to the door. As the sun hits his skin it burns, causing him to retreat back into the house.

The eldest Salvatore brother is free with an even bigger taste for vengeance.


End file.
